Robert Munsch
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Robert Norman Munsch, C.M. (born June 11, 1945) is a USA-born Canadian children's author.
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[edit] Personal Life and Career
Munsch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Fordham University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and from Boston University in 1971 with a Master of Arts degree in anthropology.
He studied to become a Jesuit priest, but decided he would rather work with children after jobs at orphanages and daycare centres. In 1973, he received a Master of Education in Child Studies from Tufts University.
In 1975 he moved to Canada to work at the preschool at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. He also taught in the Department of Family Studies at the University of Guelph as a Lecturer and as an Assistant Professor.
In Guelph he was encouraged to publish the many stories he made up for the children he worked with.
Munsch's wife delivered two stillborn babies in 1979 and 1980; out of the tragedy, he produced one of his best-known books, Love You Forever, which has sold 20,000,000 copies in North America. The Munschs have since become adoptive parents.
Munsch has obsessive-compulsive disorder and has also suffered from manic depression. [1].
[edit] Writing style
Munsch stories are well known for being juvenile, yet catchy. Munsch himself is well known for his manic storytelling methods, with exaggerated expressions and well-acted voices; his performances are always loved by kids of all ages. He makes up his stories in front of audiences and refines them through repeated tellings. He has said "It takes 200 tellings for a story to get good."
His stories do not have a recurring single character. Instead the characters are based on the children to whom he first told the story (including his own children). He often performs at children's festivals and appears at elementary schools, sometimes unannounced. He is a bestselling author in both the United States and Canada, and has sold over 30 million books, more than any other Canadian author. In 1999 he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.
[edit] Books
- 50 Below Zero (December 1985)
- Aaron's Hair (April 2002)
- Alligator Baby (September 1997)
- Andrew's Loose Tooth (May 1999)
- Angela's Airplane (October 1988)
- Boo! (August 2004)
- The Boy in the Drawer
- Class Clown (2007)
- The Dark
- David's Father (November 1983)
- The Fire Station
- From Far Away (September 1995)
- Get Me Another One (February 1996)
- Get Out of Bed (April 2002)
- The Giant
- Good Families Don't (August 1991)
- I Have To Go! (April 1987)
- I'm So Embarrassed! (June 2006)
- Jonathan Cleaned Up-Then He Heard A Sound (January 1981)
- Lighthouse
- Love You Forever (October 1986)
- Makeup Mess (April 2002)
- Millicent and The Wind
- Mmm, Cookies
- Moira's Birthday
- More Pies
- Mortimer
- Mud Puddle (January 1982)
- Murmel Murmel Murmel (November 1982)
- No Clean Clothes (2006)
- The Paper Bag Princess (May 1980)
- Pigs!
- Playhouse
- A Promise is a Promise (February 1992)
- Purple Green and Yellow (August 1992)
- Ribbon Rescue (April 2002)
- Sandcastle Contest
- Show and Tell
- Smelly Socks
- Something Good
- Stephanie's Ponytail
- Thomas' Snowsuit
- Up, Up, Down
- Wait and See
- We Share EVERYTHING!
- Where is Gah-Ning?
- Zoom
- Deep Snow (2006)
[edit] References
- Canadian Who's Who 1997. Retrieved on May 8, 2006.
[edit] External links
Categories: 1945 births | Living people | American expatriate writers in Canada | Boston University alumni | Canadian children's writers | Fordham University alumni | Former Jesuits | Members of the Order of Canada | Writers from Pittsburgh | People with obsessive-compulsive disorder | Tufts University faculty | University of Guelph faculty
